Portal:Basketball

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Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately 9.4 inches (24 cm) in diameter) through the defender's hoop (a basket 18 inches (46 cm) in diameter mounted 10 feet (3.048 m) high to a backboard at each end of the court), while preventing the opposing team from shooting through their own hoop. A field goal is worth two points, unless made from behind the three-point line, when it is worth three. After a foul, timed play stops and the player fouled or designated to shoot a technical foul is given one, two or three one-point free throws. The team with the most points at the end of the game wins, but if regulation play expires with the score tied, an additional period of play (overtime) is mandated.

Players advance the ball by bouncing it while walking or running (dribbling) or by passing it to a teammate, both of which require considerable skill. On offense, players may use a variety of shots – the layup, the jump shot, or a dunk; on defense, they may steal the ball from a dribbler, intercept passes, or block shots; either offense or defense may collect a rebound, that is, a missed shot that bounces from rim or backboard. It is a violation to lift or drag one's pivot foot without dribbling the ball, to carry it, or to hold the ball with both hands then resume dribbling. (Full article...)

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Wilt Chamberlain set the single-game scoring record in the National Basketball Association (NBA) by scoring 100 points for the Philadelphia Warriors in a 169–147 win over the New York Knicks on March 2, 1962, at Hershey Sports Arena in Hershey, Pennsylvania, United States. It is widely considered one of the greatest records in the sport's history. Chamberlain set five other league records that game, including most free throws made, a notable achievement, as he was regarded as a poor free throw shooter. The teams broke the record for most combined points in a game (316).

That season, Chamberlain averaged a single-season record 50.4 points per game, and he broke the NBA single-game scoring record (71) earlier in the season in December with 78 points. The third-year center had already set season scoring records in his first two seasons. During the fourth quarter, the Knicks began fouling other players to keep the ball away from Chamberlain, and they also became deliberate on offense to reduce the number of possessions for Philadelphia. The Warriors countered by committing fouls of their own to get the ball back. (Full article...)

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Image 1Daniel Clark and Luka Žorić competing in 2013
Image 2A Kenyan college basketball team practicing, 2016
Image 3LeBron James (USA, in white) attempts a shot against China's Yao Ming at the 2008 Olympics
Image 4Michael Jordan playing in 1992

Image 4Michael Jordan playing in 1992
Image 5Streetball in Paris, France near the Eiffel Tower, 2005
Image 6Brice Johnson cuts down the nets after winning the 2016 ACC tournament with North Carolina
Image 7Carl English and Zoran Dragić competing in February 2013
Image 8A Mikasa basketball
Image 9The Laker Girls, an all-female National Basketball Association Cheerleading squad that supports the Los Angeles Lakers basketball team in home matches, performing in 2007
Image 10Navy Midshipmen George O’Garro rounds Army Cadet Steve Stoll in an attempt to score during the Army Navy basketball game in Alumni Hall at the U.S. Naval Academy, Annapolis, Maryland, January 31, 2004
Image 11A three-point field goal by Sara Giauro during the FIBA Europe Cup Women Finals, 2005 in Naples, Italy
Image 12Basketball court at the corner of Manchester Street and Lichfield Street, Christchurch, New Zealand
Image 13Image from the first pool tour of the Euroleague wheelchair basketball competition, 9 March 2012
Image 14Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles Lakers shooting guard, stands ready to shoot a free throw during a pre-season game against the Golden State Warriors in October 2005

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Thompson at the 2013 WNBA All-Star game

Tina Marie Thompson (born February 10, 1975) is an American former WNBA professional basketball player and coach. Most recently, she served as the head coach of the Virginia Cavaliers women's basketball team from 2018 to 2022. Thompson was inducted into both the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame and the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2018.

The first college draft pick in WNBA history, Thompson was selected first by the Houston Comets. She helped lead the Comets to four consecutive WNBA Championships in 1997, 1998, 1999, and 2000. She won two Olympic gold medals and made nine WNBA All-Star Game appearances. Until 2017, she was the WNBA's all-time leading scorer and, as of 2024, she ranks second in WNBA history. (Full article...)

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... that American-Israeli basketball player Bryan Cohen is the only athlete in the history of the Patriot League to win its Defensive Player of Year award three times?
... that the 2014 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Championship Game, held between UConn and Notre Dame, was the first to feature two undefeated teams?
... that the 2018 Wheelchair Basketball World Championship saw the best-ever performance by Team Great Britain, which won the men's competition and was runner-up in the women's?
... that Jim Drucker, the founder of the world's largest online-only comic bookstore, was also the commissioner of both the Continental Basketball Association and the Arena Football League?
... that Matt Mobley set an Atlantic 10 basketball tournament record with nine 3-pointers in a victory over Richmond?

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The following are images from various basketball-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1Smith College's class of 1902 women's basketball team. (from Women's basketball)
Image 2A map of all NAIA Division I basketball teams. (from College basketball)
Image 3An illustration of a basketball game that accompanied Naismith's article from The Triangle in 1892 listing his 13 rules. (from History of basketball)
Image 4A map of all NCAA Division II basketball teams (from College basketball)
Image 5Basketball match in Alginet, Land of Valencia, 1956. (from Women's basketball)
Image 6University of California-Berkeley women's basketball team, photographed in 1899 (from Women's basketball)
Image 7Australia women's national basketball team on winning the 2006 FIBA World Championship (from Women's basketball)
Image 8Typewritten first draft of the rules of basketball by Naismith (from Rules of basketball)
Image 9The first basketball court: Springfield College (from History of basketball)
Image 10The home court of the Miami Heat of the National Basketball Association. (from Basketball court)
Image 11Initial jump at the match for the 3rd place in the FIBA Under-18 Women's Americas Championship Buenos Aires 2022 between Argentina and Brazil. (from Women's basketball)
Image 12Most important terms related to the basketball court (from Basketball court)
Image 13Most important terms related to the basketball court (from Rules of basketball)
Image 14A diagram of the relative positions of basketball officials in "three-person" mechanics. The lead official (L) is normally along the baseline of the court. The trail official (T) takes up a position approximately level with the top of the three-point line. The center official (C) stands across the court near the free-throw line. (from Official (basketball))
Image 15NBA officials Monty McCutchen (center), Tom Washington (#49) and Brent Barnaky reviewing a play. (from Official (basketball))
Image 16Freshman Women's Basketball Team - 1914 (from Women's basketball)
Image 17Israeli basketball player Yam Madar making a blind pass. (from Basketball moves)
Image 18A map of all NCAA Division I basketball teams (from College basketball)
Image 19Kawhi Leonard at the free throw line during Game 2 of the 2019 NBA Finals. (from Basketball court)
Image 20Arctic Sisterhood women's basketball team in Nome Alaska circa 1908 (from Women's basketball)
Image 21James Naismith invented basketball in 1891 at the International YMCA Training School in Springfield, Massachusetts. (from History of basketball)
Image 22A Spalding basketball from 1922 (from History of basketball)
Image 23Map of NAIA Division II basketball teams. (from College basketball)

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The Minnesota Timberwolves, often referred to as the Wolves, are an American professional basketball team based in Minneapolis. The Timberwolves compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division of the Western Conference. The team was founded in 1989. Its majority owner is Glen Taylor, who also owns the WNBA's Minnesota Lynx. The Timberwolves play their home games at Target Center, their home since 1990.

Like most expansion teams, the Timberwolves struggled in their early years, but after the acquisition of Kevin Garnett in the 1995 NBA draft, the team qualified for the playoffs in eight consecutive seasons from 1997 to 2004. Despite losing in the first round in their first seven attempts, the Timberwolves won their first division championship in 2004 and advanced to the Western Conference finals that same season. Garnett was also named the NBA Most Valuable Player for that season. The team then went into rebuilding mode for more than a decade after missing the postseason in 2005, and trading Garnett to the Boston Celtics in 2007. Garnett returned to the Timberwolves in a February 2015 trade and finished his career there, retiring in the 2016 off-season. The Timberwolves ended a 14-year playoff drought when they returned to the postseason in 2018. (Full article...)

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